The chair of the BBC, Samir Shah, has been accused of failing to provide “safe hands” for the corporation by the head of the parliamentary committee scrutinizing its governance. Dame Caroline Dinenage said Shah’s evidence to MPs on Monday was “wishy-washy” and showed a lack of “grip at the heart of BBC governance.”
The hearing followed a major crisis that led to the resignations of the Director General and the head of news, triggered by a leaked memo from a former editorial adviser. The memo criticized the BBC’s impartiality, highlighting a Panorama program that edited a Donald Trump speech in a way the corporation later admitted was “misleading.”
Despite vowing to “steady the ship,” Shah faced sharp criticism for his responses. “We were really looking for hard evidence that the BBC board are going to grip this… I’m not entirely convinced that they can and they will,” said Dinenage.
Key points from the hearing revealed deep internal issues:
- Slow Response:Â Shah conceded the BBC was too slow to apologize for the edited Trump clip, blaming disputes over the apology’s wording.
- Defiance:Â The BBC is refusing to pay financial compensation to Trump, strongly rejecting his defamation claims.
- Internal Division:Â Testimony revealed a split between BBC News, which felt the edit was “justified,” and the board, which found it “misleading.”
While the search for a new Director General is underway, the committee’s lack of confidence in Shah’s leadership casts a long shadow over the BBC’s ability to navigate its current crisis and restore public trust.
By James Kisoo
